This preliminary, exploratory and qualitative report aimed at at raising public debate on the topic of psychological consequences of Covid-19 lockdown in children. Results are exploratory and conclusions are speculative and must be confirmed through further rigorous studies. Our preliminary data suggests that during the first month of quarantine, the pandemic had an important effect on children's emotions and behavior. One in four children (26.48%) showed the regressive symptom of the demand for physical proximity to their parents during the night and almost one in five (18.17%) manifested fears that they never had before. Half of the children (53.53%) showed increased irritability, intolerance to rules, whims and excessive demands, and one in five presented mood changes (21.17%) and sleep problems including difficulty falling asleep, agitation, and frequent waking up (19.99%). One in three (34.26%) displayed nervousness about the topic of pandemic when it was mentioned at home or on TV. Almost one in three (31.38%) seemed calmer and one in two (49.57%) seemed wiser and more thoughtful. Almost all (92.57%) seemed able to adapt to the pandemic restrictions; even though one in two (43.26%) seemed more listless to the activities they were used to perform before the pandemic including playing, studying, and gaming.

The first pediatric study demonstrating significantly higher positivity rate of nasal (mid-turbinate) swab testing over oropharyngeal swab testing in detecting SARS-CoV-2 (Fisher exact test 0.046, Cohen K 0.43, confidence interval 95%, 0.014–0.855). Benefits might include lower collection-related hazard for healthcare workers. We recommend it as preferred choice for swab-based SARS-CoV-2 testing in children.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is associated with most of the acute viral respiratory tract infections causing hospitalization with a peak during the first months of life. Many clinical trials of RSV vaccine candidates are being carried out. The aim of this study was to obtain epidemiologic information to give suggestions on target populations and prevention strategies before the introduction of new vaccines or monoclonal antibodies. We retrospectively evaluated, over a 5-year period (September 2014–August 2019), a population of hospitalized Italian children aged 0–6 years with a laboratory confirmed diagnosis of RSV infection. Risk factors, seasonality of RSV infection, distribution according to age, cases of coinfections and reinfections and cases needing Intensive Care Unit were evaluated. Hospitalizations due to RSV were 624 in the period under study. The peak was found between November and April, with 80.4% of cases recorded between December and February. 62.5% of cases were found in children under three months of age and 41% in children under 30 days old. The need for intensive care was associated with younger ages, with 70.9% of cases in children below three months of age. Unless the incoming vaccines demonstrate a strong herd protection effect, preventive strategies should be aimed at newborns or at maternal immunization.